After some dithering among several pretty young blond boy actors, Screen Gems and director Scott Stewart (Priest, Legion) have chosen Jamie Campbell Bower to play Jace Wayland in the adaptation of City of Bones, Cassandra Clare‘s first The Mortal Instruments novel. Alex Pettyfer was once in the running but bowed out. Jaime Campbell Bower almost certainly has to be a better choice, anyway, though I haven’t seen enough of his work to say that with certainty. (He had small parts in New Moon and Sweeney Todd, played Arthur in Camelot, and will be in Roland Emmerich’s upcoming Anonymous.)

The book starts off like so: When Clary Fray witnesses three tattoo-covered teenagers murder another teen, she is unable to prove the crime because the victim disappears right in front of her eyes, and no one else can see the killers. She learns that the teens are Shadowhunters (humans who hunt and kill demons), and Clary, a mundie (i.e., mundane human), should not be able to see them either. Shortly after this discovery, her mother, Jocelyn, an erstwhile Shadowhunter, is kidnapped.

Lily Collins, playing Clary, might be the determining factor with respect to the shoot schedule, as she is also set to be the lead in Tarsem’s Snow White film. That one has to shoot very soon, since it is set for a March 2012 release. So The Mortal Instruments will likely shoot later this summer or in early fall. [Deadline]

After the break, one more for American Reunion, and another Twilighter, Jackson Rathbone, is cast in a legal drama. Read More »

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Jamie Chung has two big Legendary Pictures films behind her this year, Sucker Punch and The Hangover Part II, and now (probably not as a response) she’s going indie for the film Knife Fight. That’s the one starring Rob Lowe where he plays “a political crisis manager who specializes in playing hardball on behalf of scandal-plagued clients.” Jamie Chung will be his savvy assistant. Quite a few other people are in talks for roles, too: Julie Bowen, Connie Britton, Jennifer Morrison, Rebecca Mader and Titus Welliver. Bill Guttentag directs and co-wrote the script with Chris Lehane; the film will shoot next month in San Francisco, and a release is planned for October 2012, timed around the next US Presidential election.

Before Knife Fight makes it to theaters, Jamie Chung will be in Premium Rush, which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and was written and directed by David Koepp. [Variety]

After the break, Oz: The Great and Powerful and American Reunion get minor additions. Read More »

Briefly: From “Pie” to “Wedding” to “Reunion,” the fourth theatrical American Pie sequel – American Reunion – now has a release date. It’ll hit theaters on April 6, 2012 and will see all the characters from the original films come back to town for their high school reunion. So far, Universal has signed Jason Biggs, Eugene Levy, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan and Chris Klein to appear in the film and though several prominent names are still negotiating their deals, according to Deadline, “all of the main original cast is expected back.” You can read some of the rumored plot details by clicking here.

The last couple of times we reported on American Reunion, the newest installment in the American Pie franchise, we couldn’t help noticing that Alyson Hannigan‘s name was oddly absent from reports of casting negotiations. Well, fret no more: Deadline reports that Hannigan has officially signed on to reprise her role as Michelle for Reunion. As previously revealed, American Reunion will involve most of the original gang returning for their ten-year high school reunion. Michelle and Jim in particular will see their marriage tested when their next-door neighbor develops a crush on Jim.

After the jump, Blake Lively gets closer to a lead role in Savages, and Tom Wilkinson joins The Samaritan.

Moviehole is reporting that Universal Pictures has decided to abandon the direct-to-DVD American Pie movies because they are planning to make a fourth theatrical film which will bring back some of the leads from the previous films.

It is unknown who will return, although if I had to guess, I’d say that it might be called American Marriage, and pick up with Jim and Michelle Levenstein (Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan), who might be celebrating their 10th year anniversary. Or maybe it will be called American Family, American Newborn or American Pregnancy and tell the story of the Levenstein’s having kids. But I’m not sure how any of those options might incorporate the American Pie-style raunchy comedy. Or could this generation’s teen comedy franchise grow up (like much of its audience) into something beyond that?